Pundit Fight: The Political Arena

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Comedians Bill Burr and Joe Rogan distilled the 'Politics is Wrestling' analogy in a conversation about CNN vs Fox News on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Podcast (Ep 909). Bill Burr discussed his anxiety watching those News channels as they bake conflict and partisanship in their programming.

VIDEO: Joe Rogan Experience #909 - Bill Burr

BILL BURR:(1h 16m 10s) Its why I can't watch CNN or Fox, I can't just sit there and listen - as much as I rant and rave which is just f*ckin pretty ironic - I can't sit there listening to people screaming and yelling at each other cuz they don't want to come together. They don't want to find what's right. They just want to win.
JOE ROGAN: They have a side and they don't want to look at the other side.
BURR: I have a red tie so I argue the "Red Tie" sh*t. You have a blue tie so you argue that. It's f*ckin childish…
ROGAN: Hashtag "I'm with Her". The I'm with her thing was driving me f*cking crazy too. What do you mean you're with her. Is it just "her", is it about a woman or is it about who is the right person to run the f*ckin country. Cuz its not her, are you voting Democratic?
BURR: And I thought those f*cking — you know CNN they kinda boxed out Bernie Sanders. It was almost like a fight, he might’ve been a better matchup. Who knows?
ROGAN: He was a way better matchup. He wasn't compromised. If you wanna talk about someone who was financially compromised, he wasn't compromised. He may have been the only guy who ever ran for President that wasn't completely tied in to the financial system.

Joe Rogan and Bill Burr talking about the CNN/Fox News divide

JOE ROGAN: The CNN/Fox divide, the left and right divide has never been greater in this country than right now. There's no one objective news source. There's not one news source that just tells you what's going on and doesn't do it from a biased perspective. Its left or right.
BILL BURR: But I think that divide only exists between the people that watch that sh*t. Its kinda like people — do you watch the UFC, do you not watch the UFC — If you watch the UFC then you're into this sh*t. I think there's just news junkies out there that just mainline that sh*t and they're the ones where that divide is like that.

ALEX JONES: (54s) I don't really like Hollywood. I'm sick of it. Its so fake, its empty. But I do like The Rock. I do like his movies, my kids like his movies. Reportedly behind the scenes, he's a really likeable guy. A hard working guy and he's supposedly pretty conservative but in a populist vein. That's a good thing.
He said about a month ago, he's considering a run for the Presidency in 2020. And the way Trump's going, if he betrays his base. I think there's one guy who's got more real star appeal and people appeal than even Donald Trump and that's Dwayne Johnson. And if Trump dynamites his own base and starts selling out to the Democrats then I would back Dwayne Johnson running against Donald John Trump and I think most Americans would as well.

Plus if the Rock's up there saying, "Mexico and China don't let you in if you're illegal. They don't let you come here and have babies for free. They don't let you come here and claim you were a kid here but with no proof". Obviously because of he's skin color that would really help and I think The Rock knows that.
But super focused, successful, smart guy. I think he'd make a great President. He's a free marketer. He loves America. He's not out to piss on the country... Should we start drafting Dwayne Johnson who already says he's getting ready to run to replace Donald Trump?

Alex continues his gushing for The Rock but oddly diverges into a shoot against Kid Rock, another prospective celebrity politician, which he promptly backtracks on.

VIDEO: Will Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Defeat Trump In 2020?

ALEX JONES: So smart, good-looking, Pro-American guy with brown skin. Yes! Put him in office immediately...
Listen I'm not dumping Trump right now and Trump's done a great job but we're gonna debate this about what do we do if old Donald Trump goes sideways?

Well The Rock, Dwayne Johnson is a lot better than Kid Rock. Nothing against Kid Rock. He's got some OK music and stuff. Kid Rock does kind of look like he got fed through a meth laboratory.
Ok I'm being mean. Kid Rock's got some good policies. Some good ideas, he's given a lot of money back to Detroit and he's a patriot. I've got mutual friends with Kid Rock and I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that. Hell! I don't look that good either. Maybe I look like I've been fed through that. Point is that I hope he wins the Senate but he really is rough around the edges.

I doubt we'll be seeing Alex Jones introducing The Rock in public appearances the same way Paul "The Advocate" Heyman introduces Brock Lesnar. I don't see the Rock's personal politics overlapping with Alex Jones' brand of libertarianism. As far as credible wrestler candidates go, Governor Ventura is closer to an "Alex Jones Guy" than the Rock or John Cena is.

The Rock is in a unique position as an adored public figure, transcending partisan politics. Moreover, he’s getting a push from the Infowars apparatus that paved the climate which helped elect Trump. If you smell what The Rock is cooking.

Friday, June 23, 2017

There's been a lot of chatter on the possibility of Pro-Wrestler Dwayne Johnson contesting for the Presidency. With broad appeal as a social media darling and the world's highest paid actor, the Rock has gotten bipartisan approval from the likes of leftist filmmaker Michael Moore and conservative publication, the National Review.
Outspoken billionaire Mark Cuban has spoken on how Trump's success has paved the way for other entrepreneurs to challenge for the highest office in the land. The same could be argued for Celebrities in general, rapper Kanye West one of the earliest to float a 2020 run before fellow self-promoter Donald Trump cut him off at the pass.
Along with politicians Elizabeth Warren and Ted Cruz, the likely Presidential field also includes celebrity powerbrokers Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg. As guest on the 'Chapo Trap House' podcast, Matt Taibbi explains the appeal and advantages of running for office as a celebrity candidate.

Episode 77 — No Country For Gorilla Men feat. Matt Taibbi (1/29/17)MATT CHRISTMAN: (32m 52s) It basically boils down to the fact that there's a symbiotic relationship between traditional politicians and the media, right? Because most people especially if they’re running for President on a National scale has never heard of these a**holes. So it's basically the media's job to — in collaboration with the candidate — shape a version of them for people to be introduced to and give them an idea of who they are
MATT TAIBBI: Right
CHRISTMAN: Trump because he's a celebrity had a prefabricated brand that he didn't need the media to help him create so that relationship just broke down because he wasn't a politician.
TAIBBI: That's 100% correct. What people need to remember -who are politicians? Most of them before they enter congress are 4th rate lawyers who get elected from these little... towns who gradually get built up and then they have profile and then in order to be turned into these mythic God-like characters they need the overwhelming attention of lots and lots of media people. But you don't need that if you're Donald Trump, he just bypassed that entire exercise. He's a celebrity by himself, without all the help of these sycophants.

Review America with Brian Mann & Nate Milton — Episode 1: The RNC
BRIAN MAXWELL: (25m 53s) If this whole campaign, this whole election is Pro-wrestling. The actual Presidency is 'Brawl for All'. Being a Pro-wrestling match doesn’t actually determine who the better fighter is...
What’s really harmful with our politics -especially in our current media age- is that the qualifications, the hoops that we have people run through don’t in anyway line up to what it actually means to be President. At all. So we've devised this obstacle course that doesn't actually test someone's readiness for this type of position.
I have no doubt as scary as it sounds- that Donald Trump might win this election cuz he might actually win the media job of converting people into voters... at the end of the day the job of the Presidency isn't necessarily a public relations job... The more that I look at it and I see we kind of opened things up. I think we’ve been doing it long enough that we can question the results.

SNL imagining a John Cena and Dwayne Johnson Presidency

Writing on the analogy that American Politics is Pro-Wrestling for the past 10yrs, I never imagined a WWE Hall-of-Famer in Donald Trump could occupy the White House. The fact the Rock, an actual Wrestler is poised to be a Presidential frontrunner is truly mind-boggling.
John Cena, another marquee Wrestler also makes a compelling case as a dark horse Presidential Contender. Though divisive in the Wrestling Universe ("Let's go Cena, CENA sucks!") especially compared to the "People’s Champion". Cena offers a clearer liberal representative whilst ticking the same boxes as the Rock — charismatic action hero, positive rolemodel and supporter of the Troops. A plus on Cena's ledger, he speaks mandarin.

VIDEO: John Cena supports #WeAreAmerica this Independence Day

If registered Republican Dwayne Johnson were to run, could he possibly challenge Donald Trump in a GOP primary? Could the winner between them face a Democratic nominee John Cena? Might the deciding battle in the "Once in a lifetime" feud between John Cena and the Rock be waged in the Political Arena? The rivalry that began for WrestleMania 28, avenged at WrestleMania 29 could possibly culminate in the election for POTUS 46.

Expounding on an earlier tweet, Mike Cernovich proposed a Left VS Right PPV showdown headlined by Keith Olbermann and new boss and partner, Alex Jones. I’ve been meaning to update the PunditFight roster with today’s current stars, the hype behind this hypothetical superfight might just be the inspiration.

Original 'American Pundit Fighting' roster (2007)

In the 10 years since it's founding, the APF roster has changed dramatically, escalating within the past year during the recent changeover in administrations. Jon Stewart stepped down from the 'Daily Show'. Stephen Colbert broke kayfabe to replace David Letterman on the 'Late Show'. Ratings juggernaut Bill O’Reilly was stunningly axed over sexual harassment claims. Alex Jones has arguably become the most influential pundit whilst the audacious Trump has effectively made the likes of Rush Limbaugh and traditional media obsolete.

It's telling of the times that the roster Cernovich offered to represent the Right is made up of independent personalities that don't occupy mainstream news outlets.

ALEX JONES — 2017-MAY-26, FRIDAY
MIKE CERNOVICH: (3h 15m 08s) I predicted that people on the Right could do it better than people on the left. This a point that is being missed by the media. This is not a threat. I don’t want violence, I want a debate. Again, show me anyone on the left who has ever offered $100,000 to charity to debate me.
Alex Jones, big name. We can raise a lot of money for charity. We can livestream it, have a superchat going. I bet you we can raise a million dollars if we had a big —like a WrestleMania. Wow! I wish Alex were here right now so we could brainstorm off each other. I envision like a major UFC event. A major boxing match promoted by CNN, co-promoted by Infowars. Maybe get Breitbart, Daily Caller, Cernovich Media. Get all of us in a room and we can have an undercard leading to a main event.

So the Left, they can have Keith Olbermann, Bill Maher, Sam Harris, Jake Tapper, Brian Stelter. All these guys on the left can come in. Like a big battle royal. And then we can have people on the Right: Alex Jones, Paul Joseph Watson, Millie [Weaver], [Mike] Cernovich, Stefan Molyneux. We could have 5, 10 people on each side and this could all lead — God! Where is Alex right now when you need him?

This would be an amazing, amazing event, we could cut up a promo for it. I bet you we could do a million for charity. I would put up a $100,000 of my own money from Cernovich media to see this event happen for charity. It would be the Battle Royale, the Left VS the Right. Who has the better ideas? Who can gauge with free speech with the most tenacity, the most ferocity. Who has the better argument? Who's more logical, who's more cogent? Millions of people would watch this. We could air it on every network. Air it live on CNN, air it live on NBC, ABC, Fox News, MSNBC. Air it live on everybody’s social media, on everybody's YouTube. Crowdfund donations. Livestream it. All money would go to charity. Why isn't this happening?

The Alex Jones Show (Friday May 12, 2017)
ALEX JONES: (3h 23m 12s) Can you imagine if the Rock [aka Dwayne Johnson] runs with [Mark] Zuckerberg?
OWEN SHROYER: Its interesting Alex, I know you've talked to people within the WWE. Its pretty well known the WWE is a pretty conservative group, politically. Considering the people who go out to the media and do interviews. You've got Linda McMahon who's in as the Small Business Administration adviser, Vince McMahon's wife.
JONES: The billionaire strut
SHROYER: And like you said earlier, I don't have a problem with the Rock. I think the Rock is a genuine guy. I think he genuinely cares about people.
JONES: I just know I like all the shows he's on. I mean I won't watch a lot of TV, he's just really funny to watch. I like him and I can't — If he runs with the Democrats, oh huh please don’t do that. SHROYER: Apparently they say he's a registered Republican, I don't know if that's true or not. JONES: I hope that's the case because the word is Zuckerberg is getting him to run.
SHROYER: Well I think that’s what they're gonna try and do Alex. They know the Rock has people power. I mean he's the People's Champion, that's what they call him. They know he will draw a lot of attention. He's already drawing attention just for the notion he might run and the Democrats have nothing. They literally have nothing...

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Wrestler CM Punk from the indies to the "Big League".
Trump, teasing a run in 2000 to officially announcing his Presidential bid in 2015.

Wrestlers hone their stagecraft as they develop, perfecting their lines and shaping their personas. As they move up the ranks from the indie circuit to the big stage, storylines may get rehashed as they reintroduce themselves to bigger and bigger audiences. The same goes for politics.
Presidential candidates who may have been popular or influential in their districts or States, mount campaigns using the playbook that served them well on the regional stage. Deploying familiar lines and refining their message, a look into one's Gubernatorial or Senate races might telegraph a candidate's arc.
That being said, often times the wider public only see the latest and grander incarnation. Unaware of the recycled messaging and the winding road to becoming the character they see in front of them.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Trump left no such trail as he became the first person to assume the Presidency with no prior political or military experience. Donald Trump has been a public figure for several decades and has hinted at becoming President as early as 1988 and signaling serious bids from 2000.

In fact, Trump once came to Minnesota to find out from Ventura himself exactly how he did it while he was considering a run for public office himself.

"It's almost like he's reading our playbook," said Dean Barkley, Ventura's campaign chairman, who Ventura later appointed to the U.S. Senate. "Ventura had very, very high negatives. Nobody took him seriously. What he had going for him was his personality, and his ability to connect with people."

VIDEO: Donald Trump Jesse Ventura press conference

Watching Trump and Ventura's news conference on the Reform Party presidential race of 2000, you'll find talking points that foretell storylines for Trump's winning campaign 16 years later. Those who followed the campaign closely might recognise now-familiar phrases from this event, including the iconic Trumpism - "Big League".

Below are selected transcripts of that 2000 speech accompanied by mirroring headlines from 2016.

Trump addressing the charge that his Presidential campaign is a publicity stunt, a glorified book tour

REPORTER: (17m 06s) Is this more of a book tour promotion than a Presidential Campaign?
DONALD TRUMP: ... All 3 of my books have been No.1 Bestsellers. I don't need this for that. New York City's the hottest selling city in the World. I'm selling condominiums and buildings like crazy. I don't need it for that. I'm doing this very seriously. The book whether it goes to No.1 as the other 3 have or whether it doesn't is not a major factor economically. It's not a lot of money in a book no matter how successful it is.

I am looking very seriously as to whether or not it can be won. Very much like Jesse, you go out and you run. If I go out and get 20% of the vote. Big deal! People say "Great Job" for 24 hours, Great Job. And not that its a bad place I'm back in my office at Trump Tower the following Wednesday. So I'm looking as to whether or not I can win. If I can win I believe I can do a very good job otherwise I wouldn't be running. It's as simple as that.

Donald Trump on the support he's gotten by way of the thousands in attendance at his rallies

REPORTER: Mr Trump, on that point you had a packed house here today. How have you done elsewhere in the Country. What kind of feelings are you getting, what kind of vibe...?

TRUMP: Well its been amazing. As I think you know its been amazing. We've had 17,000 people show up in California. We had 14,000 show up in Hartford, Connecticut you know its a little disconcerting when you leave and you say "How many people am I speaking in front of?", your secretary says "17,500 people". And you never sort of heard of that.
We have had a tremendous response. On television we've gotten the highest ratings, on Larry King and virtually every show. 60 Minutes is doing a big piece on January 11th where I speak very brilliantly of him [Jesse Ventura]... so its been very strong.

JESSE VENTURA: ... You can't focus on a particular market but certainly if you can have a dynamic campaign that inspires young people. Those are voters that aren't polled which is another great disservice to the 15% we're talking about that we're supposed to get because I never once -- to show you how fraudulent polling can be. I never once, not at one point in my election was I polled to be the winner. There was not one poll that indicated that Jesse Ventura would be the next Governor of the state of Minnesota yet when that November 3rd came, who won? And the polls didn't dictate who won, the voters dictated it and I ended up winning that election when no poll indicated that in the first place and that's why it was fraudulent that they would set that type of thing up based upon polling results

Donald Trump and Jesse Ventura pushing back on reporters who were mischaracterizing them

REPORTER: (15m 31s) Governor, Donald Trump said earlier that he thinks if he decided to run for President that you would probably endorse him
TRUMP: I didn't say that. When did I say that?!
VENTURA: Aah you see, we caught you Press
TRUMP: He's the New York Post, don't worry. It's the New York Post (pointing lightheartedly)
VENTURA: You see if Donald wasn't here now, they would have gotten away with that question.
TRUMP: Now look at him, he just hides his head. He doesn't even dispute it. That's alright, New York Post*room laughs*

REPORTER: (26m 15) Do you seen anyone else, do you know of any other [candidate you could endorse]?
VENTURA: I haven't been searching for anyone
REPORTER: Has anyone spoke to you and asked for your endorsement?
VENTURA: No
REPORTER: So you're probably going to endorse Donald Trump if he runs?
TRUMP: (interjects) Again -- New York Post Governor. Don't worry about it.
VENTURA: I know, I like the New York Post. They write all sorts of fabrications*laughs*

Its worth noting how cordial the press' relationship with Trump is was, known then as a political freelancer and folksy celebrity businessman. Compared to today, where President Trump has a sub 40% approval rating and is resisted by a large swathe of the population despite retaining his populist appeal.
The conference was held 4 years prior to the success of NBC's 'The Apprentice' and Jesse Ventura declaring "we may need a Wrestler in the White House" alongside the Donald at WrestleMania XX.
Jesse had coaxed Trump ringside that day to endorse him but it would be Trump who would go on to occupy the highest office in the land 12 years later.

About the Author

Hello my name is Jim, I'm a graphic designer by day and APF commissioner by night. I've always been a fan of analogies, this is just my most ambitious. A whole blog proving that Politics and wrestling are one and the same.
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Email me at pundit.fight[at]gmail.com
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